Fright Night present: The Babadook + Intro with Kim Taylor-Foster at the Electric Palace

Six years after the violent death of her husband, Amelia (Essie Davis) is at a loss. She struggles to discipline her ‘out of control’ 6 year-old, Samuel (Noah Wiseman), a son she finds impossible to love. Samuel’s dreams are plagued by a monster he believes is coming to kill them both. When a disturbing storybook called ‘The Babadook’ turns up at their house, Samuel is convinced that the Babadook is the creature he’s been dreaming about. His hallucinations spiral out of control and he becomes more unpredictable and violent. Amelia, genuinely frightened by her son’s behaviour, is forced to medicate him. But when she begins to see glimpses of a sinister presence all around her, it slowly dawns on her that the thing Samuel has been warning her about may be real.

Yet for all the bone-chilling horror in The Babadook, this haunted house story is ultimately a moving and eloquent exploration of grief and motherhood. With Amelia, Kent and Davis give us a portrait of a woman who has never allowed herself to properly mourn her dead husband, or process her complicated, often negative feelings towards the son who inadvertently caused his death. It’s a sophisticated take that acknowledges that motherhood isn’t always a perfect experience for women.

This film is F-Rated. The F-Rating is applied to all films which are directed by women and/or written by women. Find out more about F-Rating.

About your Fright Night co-host, Kim Taylor-Foster:

Kim Taylor-Foster is a film and TV critic, journalist, broadcaster, and author. Her books include ‘Why We Love The Matrix’ and ‘Why We Love Die Hard’.